A Democrat, Dufty was elected a supervisor from the city's eighth district in 2002 before being re-elected in 2006. His current term expires in January 2011.

Dufty is openly gay and his election campaigns have often won the backing of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. Amongst Dufty's top priorities in District 8 is attracting and retaining a larger constituency of families with children. In 2006, Dufty and lesbian friend Rebecca Goldfader had a daughter, Sydney.